


Shoulder

by albinococonut23



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-26
Updated: 2014-07-26
Packaged: 2018-02-10 11:38:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2023695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/albinococonut23/pseuds/albinococonut23
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They knew if they needed a shoulder to lean on, or cry on, his would always be there. Or, 4 times Ohno supported the other members, and 1 time they supported him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shoulder

**Author's Note:**

> The first thing I ever wrote for the Arashi fandom, I think!  
> This is ROUGHLY set in mid to late June 2008. Some events actually happened around then, some I totally made up so that the story would work out the way I wanted it to xD. In other words, don't shoot me if it's not 100% factual, okay? :)

****  
The best thing about Ohno Satoshi was that he could provide the best comfort to anyone without actually doing much of anything at all. He wouldn’t ask questions or be meddlesome. If you wanted to talk then he’d be a quiet, ready, listener, and if not then he’d be willing to sit in reassuring silence with you, comforting you with his mere presence at your side. He somehow knew when his friends were upset, as if he just sensed it, and they knew if they needed a shoulder to lean on, or cry on, his would always be there.  
  


XXX

  
Jun had been in a terrible mood all day, storming around the gym and snapping at anyone whose steps weren’t perfectly on the beat. Later, everyone but Ohno hurried to change and go home, wanting to escape Jun’s wrath as soon as possible. Ohno instead sat down on the bumpy couch in the dressing room, stretching a little and ruffling his hair.  
  
Jun was standing at the counter across from him, glaring at his own reflection in the mirror. Ohno thought he looked tired, and the words left his mouth before he could think better of them.  
  
“You look tired, Jun.”  
  
Jun spun around, eyes narrowed. “Shut up, Satoshi.” He bit angrily, prowling over. “Stop hanging around taking up space and go home.”  
  
“You should too, Jun.” Ohno said gently, looking up into MatsuJun’s face above him. “Get some sleep. We have filming tomorrow.”  
  
Jun swatted him on the side of the head, brow furrowed darkly. Ohno still stared up at him with a knowing expression, as though he could see right through the anger and violence.  
  
Jun sighed huffily, giving up and sinking down onto the couch beside his leader. He fiddled with his nail-polished hands in his lap. “I don’t like it… when it’s over, I mean.”  
  
Ohno nodded his head slowly, to show he was listening.  
  
“Hanadan, the filming’s over, and after next week we’ll be done promoting it too… It’ll all be over, for good. I know I complained when I was busy all the time, Satoshi, but… I’ve gotten used to it. This, not being busy, it’s a lot worse… you know?”  
  
Ohno nodded again, gave Jun’s troubled expression a soft smile, and then leaned over to rest his head on the younger man’s shoulder. With his current vulnerable mood and the prickly, ‘I don’t need anybody’ exterior that Jun tried so hard to maintain, Ohno knew he’d never initiate such a gesture himself.  
  
Jun stayed still for a moment and then almost melted against his leader, hugging him close and practically curling up against him. He fell asleep like that, and Ohno had no intention of waking him until security came by to lock up and did so for him. He got another swat on the head for letting the younger man be caught sleeping in his arms, but Ohno could tell that MatsuJun really meant ‘thank you’.

  
XXX

  
Nino had probably been the first to discover Ohno’s calming benefits. From almost the beginning, finding Ohno’s older and more experienced self to be a reassurance, he discovered that having some physical contact with him of any kind was enough to ease his nerves considerably. Once this had been realized, he quickly increased the amount of time he spent touching Ohno, whenever he got the chance, and since Ohno had such a passive and understanding personality, he adjusted to and accepted the attention rather quickly.  
  
On this particular day, however, Nino had been particularly clingy. He’d hurried to catch up with Ohno and hold his hand on the way into the building and spent most of their time in the green room curled up with his head in his lap. This wasn’t too strange, but he seemed off by Ohno’s standards. The bounce in his step and cheeky grin he usually wore when he wasn’t keeping his hands to himself were absent.  
  
“We’ve got to get out there in five minutes.” Jun reminded them, recently looking better rested and less frazzled than he had in weeks.  
  
“Hey…” Nino started, saving his game and speaking without lifting his head from Ohno’s thigh. “You guys want to go out somewhere after this? Get some food or something?...”  
  
Sho frowned slightly from behind his newspaper. “Don’t you have a date?”  
  
“Yeah!” Aiba agreed. “That new girl of yours! What— What was her name?...”  
  
“Kimiko.” Sho supplied.  
  
“Right! Weren’t you saying earlier this week that you were going to see that new horror movie with her?” Aiba looked puzzled and amused. Nino didn’t move. “Did you forget?”  
  
Nino continued clicking buttons on his DS, eyes glued to the screen. Only Ohno, from his position, could see that he’d already turned the game off. “We broke up.” Nino said casually, like it was no big deal.  
  
A short silence fell over the room, but they were spared the awkward atmosphere by being called onto the set.  
  
Throughout the episode, Nino acted the same as he always did, throwing out sarcastic comments and witty remarks, but he sat closer than usual to Ohno on the couch.  
  
While Aiba was terrifying Sho and their guest with his strange food concoctions, Nino hung back, hovering close to Ohno’s shoulder and watching the proceedings silently. Ohno glanced back at his face, seeing the soft smile as he watched Aiba force-feeding Sho that looked nothing like the smirk he usually wore for the camera. Ohno thought his eyes looked sad.  
  
Nino noticed his stare, glancing at him curiously, and Ohno turned his attention back to Sho and Ogura-san trying not to vomit around mouthfuls of curry ice cream (that was literally just ice cream and curry rice stirred together). If anyone else noticed his hand slip back to tangle with Nino’s, they thought nothing abnormal of it.  
  
Back in the green room, Ohno complained that he was hungry and Aiba quickly suggested they all go for ramen.  
  
By the time they were ready to go home at the end of the night, Nino was smiling genuinely, but he still held Ohno’s hand as they all walked to the nearest station.  
  


XXX

  
Aiba was the sort of person you’d think wore his emotions on his sleeve. He laughed and grinned and said what he felt like, whether it was crazy sounding or childish or sometimes even coming off as offensive or impolite. Still, people loved him for being the way he was, open and happy and innocent, and he was almost always quickly forgiven for his wrongdoings.  
  
Truth was that he was completely open about _that_ side of the spectrum, yes, but he hid when he was hurt or angry. He knew being the perpetually happy one was the biggest part of his charm and, since he’d always wanted everybody to like him, he did his best to at least act like he was in a constant state of glee and enthusiasm.  
  
Ohno wasn’t the only one who knew these things about him, they were all aware, but Ohno was particularly good at telling the genuine Aiba from the forced one. Somehow, he was just strangely perceptive about those kinds of things.  
  
However, he seemed to have missed something.  
  
At the ramen restaurant, Aiba had been mostly his normal hyperactive self, if he seemed forced they all assumed he was putting on extra infectious happiness in an attempt to cheer Nino up, but Ohno had occasionally caught him looking rather put out and troubled despite the growing good atmosphere around them. He hadn’t been that way before the filming of Shukudai-kun, which meant Ohno must have missed something (being too preoccupied with Nino’s problems, most likely) while the show was going on.  
  
When he got home that night, tired and pleasantly full, he wasn’t that surprised to get a call from Aiba not an hour later. He had caller ID, so he didn’t bother stifling the yawn that erupted from his lips as he held his cell to his ear and swung his legs over the side of his bed. “…Hello?”  
  
 _“Um… it’s me.”_  
  
“Aiba-chan.” Ohno scratched his ear absently. “I know.”  
  
 _“Yeah?...”_  
  
Ohno could picture him biting his lip. He smiled softly, but waited for Aiba to say why he was calling. He knew Aiba would deny whatever problem he had if Ohno were to ask him about it.  
  
There was a long silence before Aiba spoke again, clearly trying to sound mildly curious, rather than bothered. _“I, uh… You know, I was just wondering about something… Why is it that, well…”_ He took a deep breath, sounding frustrated despite himself. _“…Do you think I really am stupid?”_  
  
Ohno took a minute to think about his answer. He knew Aiba was anxiously waiting for a response but he also knew that there was a lot of importance and need in such a question and so he had to answer carefully, while still honestly.  
  
“Sometimes… I think you might be the smartest of all of us.”  
  
“Oh-chan…”  
  
“Maybe you’re a bit of a genius. None of us could ever come up with the stuff you do.”  
  
Aiba was silent for a long minute before sighing. Ohno heard a car go by and then the faint creak of wooden boards as Aiba probably shifted his weight on them.  
  
“Are you at home?” He asked, guessing the answer was going to be a negative. Aiba confirmed his suspicions with no response. “… Do you want to come in?”  
  
 _“… ‘K…”_  
  
Ohno crept quickly downstairs, invited Aiba in quietly from where he’d been sitting on his front porch, and then snuck back up to his bedroom, careful not to wake his family. None of them thought it was abnormal to find their son tangled up in the limbs of his gangly band mate come morning, and let them sleep until noon since they both had the day off anyhow.  
  
It wasn’t until Ohno was watching the episode air later in the week that he noticed the guest jokingly call Aiba stupid for mixing hot curry with ice cream and not expecting it to melt.  
  
The tall man had laughed along with everyone else while the cameras were rolling.

  
XXX

  
They spent the afternoon learning the steps to a new dance routine. They were fairly complicated, and even Ohno was having a bit of trouble. They had time to shower and hang around a bit before they had to film another variety show, so the others moved off to get cleaned up once they were done practice. Ohno noticed Sho hanging behind, slumped over on a bench with his arms resting on his legs and fiddling with a small towel. Ohno approached him.  
  
“Sho-kun?” He said, and Sho immediately stood up, not meeting his eyes.  
  
“I know, I keep messing up at the bridge, right?” He said lowly, frowning off into space as he looped the towel around his neck and turned to walk in the direction of the gym’s shower room and lockers. “Don’t worry; I’ll work on it at home.”  
  
Ohno frowned as he watched him go, scratching his head –and messing up his hair in the process— before following after him slowly. Hopefully, Sho would tell him what was going on later.  
  
…  
  
“You like drawing?”  
  
“Yes, it’s one of my favorite hobbies.” Said the guest, flipping her long hair behind her shoulders.  
  
“We have an artist here, actually.” MatsuJun said, pointing at Ohno.  
  
“Two, actually.” Nino put in, a wicked grin threatening to sneak into his expression. “Sho-kun’s _especially_ talented.”  
  
Sho laughed shortly, waving his hand as if to brush the comment off. “No, no I’m really not.”  
  
“Don’t be modest.” Nino didn’t bother hiding his smirk as a staff member came in to pass out three drawing boards and markers. “We’ll have you all draw something so we can compare.”  
  
Sho sagged visibly, sighing an exaggerated sigh as he reluctantly accepted the items from the staff.  
  
“What will we have you draw…? Ogura-san can decide.”  
  
“Me? Ah… Let’s see… how about a dog?”  
  
“Oh, A dog! Nice one, Ogu-san!” Aiba grinned as the three ‘artists’ began to work.  
  
The guest was good. Ohno tried to make his a little disproportioned and rather below his usual standard but everybody gushed and praised his anyway. “As expected of Ohno-san, ne…” Jun mused and Ohno already felt guilty. Everybody proceeded to laugh as they noticed Sho’s smile had faded into more of a grimace, but Ohno could tell that it wasn’t faked.  
  
“I want to see Sakurai-san’s.” The guest smiled, obviously not aware of the real measure of his drawing skills.  
  
Of course, the audience, staff, and everybody else in the studio burst into loud fits of laughter the moment he turned his board around.  
  
“Eh?! But—“ The guest exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand and trying to hold back her amusement. “I’m sorry, Sakurai-san, but what part of this is ‘especially talented’…?” More laughter, Sho pouted and the guest reached out to point at part of the drawing. “Seriously, what is _this_ part supposed to be? I don’t get it…”  
  
“Those are the dogs- slegs.” He mumbled, immediately looking mortified as he tripped over the words.  
  
“What?!” Nino laughed loudly, not missing the chance to point his mistake out. “’Eggs’? _What?_ This is a _dog_ you know?”  
  
Silently, Ohno put a hand on Nino’s knee and Nino stopped immediately, looking slightly apologetic as he leaned back against the couch.  
  
“Legs, I meant to say…. Sorry.” Sho smiled weakly. “But I guess this might as well _not_ be a dog anyway, huh?...”  
  
…  
  
Sho was silent, _completely_ silent, and that wasn’t a good thing.  
  
Well, Sho was usually silent while he was reading his newspapers, so Ohno didn’t think the others had picked up on his mood, but when Ohno sat beside him he saw the newscaster was actually looking down, frowning at something distant that clearly was not the text he had held up in front of him. Ohno watched him heave a silent sigh, and then leaned back comfortably against the couch.  
  
“Do you have a headache, Sho-kun?” He asked quietly. Sho glanced towards him as though he hadn’t noticed he was there, and Ohno smiled and pet his lap invitingly.  
  
Not a minute later, the newspaper had been discarded and Sho was sprawled along the couch on his stomach, head resting on Ohno’s legs as the older man massaged his scalp gently. Sho sighed deeply, letting his eyes close. “… M’having a bad day…” He murmured softly, voice muffled by Ohno’s jeans as he shifted a little closer into Ohno’s warmth. “But that feels nice… Thanks.”  
  
Ohno’s long fingers smoothed the hair away from his eyes and Sho smiled softly, drifting off a little.  
  


XXX

  
When those pictures had surfaced out of nowhere in the tabloids, he’d been shocked. Why would a stupid party he’d gone to years prior be showing up in the media _now_ , when his career seemed to finally be beginning to skyrocket? He supposed the answer was in the question. He’d always heard that the only way it was interesting to watch someone fall was if it was from a high place, he’d just never have expected he’d be the one to take the plunge.  
  
He’d already been torn out on by Kitagawa Johnny himself, his mother had had a fit, shocked at the -honestly untrue- marijuana allegations, his manager had been snappy and cold towards him all morning, and every other staff member or Johnny’s that he’d seen on his way into the building had followed him with their eyes, whispering to their companions behind his back.  
  
He could bear all that, but he was afraid of what the rest of Arashi would think more than anything else. He pulled his hat lower on his head, hesitantly pushing open the door to the boardroom where they were supposed to be having a group meeting.  
  
“Oh! Leader’s here!” Aiba announced, getting to his feet and smiling broadly at him. “I was afraid you’d try and hide from us.”  
  
Ohno frowned, confused that the taller man seemed _happy_ to see him, and then was surprised to find that Nino had gotten up and was taking his hand.  
  
“Oh-chan.” He said gently, pulling him away from the doorway and further into the room. He didn’t look angry either, and Ohno quickly let go of his guide in an attempt to clear his head and figure out why nothing was turning out the way he’d expected and braced himself for.  
  
“….Why? Why aren’t you mad?”  
  
“We _are_ mad.” Jun answered, walking into the room with Sho at his heels. Sho’s expression was downcast, and Jun’s was hardened and dangerous, the kind of face you never wanted to meet with and the exact kind of face Ohno had imagined he would encounter. It made his heart sink as much as it eased his perplexity. “This whole situation is ridiculous,” Jun continued “but we’re not mad at _you_.”  
  
“B-but… This is all my fault…”  
  
“We’re not mad at you Leader, really. Nobody’s blaming you for this.” Aiba reassured him, backed up by a serious nod from Nino.  
  
“But I— I didn’t do the drugs I _swear_.”  
  
“We know.” Sho said seriously. “We believe you.”  
  
“But I still went there! I shouldn’t have gone but I did and it was stupid of me, so you can be mad. I deserve it.”  
  
“Leader.” Jun said sternly. “It was a dumb mistake but it happened years ago. It’s pointless to be mad at anybody but the ones who released the pictures and wrote the articles now.”  
  
“Don’t be so hard on yourself.” Nino added. “You’re our Leader, ne Oh-chan? Don’t let this stuff get to you. You don’t have to shoulder this alone.”  
  
Jun clapped him supportively on the back, slipping past him to go to his seat next to Aiba.   
  
“… This won’t just affect me though….” Ohno murmured, lowering his head as he thought about it and felt his throat ache and eyes sting. “Sho-kun’s going off to the Beijing Olympics soon, and Hana Yori Dango Final is coming out in theaters _tomorrow_ … I’m ruining everything. I’m a terrible leader, seriously...”  
  
“You’re the best leader ever, Oh-chan. I mean that. You’re the best we could ever ask for.” Nino said firmly.  
  
Ohno turned away so he could look at Sho rather than meet the intensity of Nino’s gaze. “Sho-kun would have made a better leader than me.” He sniffed quietly. “I just got lucky at Janken…”  
  
Sho shook his head, stepping forward and pulling Ohno tightly to his chest. “No,” he said softly, holding him close as the older man sniffled miserably and clung to his sweater. “That’s not true.”  
  
“We love you, Ohno-kun.” Aiba said seriously.  
  
Jun nodded his agreement. “ _We’re_ the lucky ones.”  
  


XXX  
  
THE END  
  
XXX  
  


 


End file.
